Muzinich & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Fidus Investment Corporation $FDUS

Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:FDUS) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 347,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 99,671 shares during the quarter. Fidus Investment comprises about 2.1% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Fidus Investment were worth $6,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FDUS. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Fidus Investment by 6.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 903,443 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,304,000 after purchasing an additional 56,449 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Fidus Investment by 11.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 497,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,088,000 after purchasing an additional 51,218 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its position in Fidus Investment by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 485,780 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,376,000 after purchasing an additional 84,320 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Fidus Investment by 22.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,915 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,913,000 after purchasing an additional 80,500 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Fidus Investment by 25.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 375,736 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,612,000 after purchasing an additional 77,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.14% of the company’s stock.

Fidus Investment Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FDUS opened at $17.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $676.27 million, a P/E ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 0.69. Fidus Investment Corporation has a 52 week low of $16.70 and a 52 week high of $22.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.29.

Fidus Investment (NASDAQ:FDUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The asset manager reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. Fidus Investment had a net margin of 52.87% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The firm had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.46 million. Analysts expect that Fidus Investment Corporation will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Fidus Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Fidus Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidus Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Fidus Investment from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.25.

Fidus Investment Company Profile

Fidus Investment Corporation (NASDAQ: FDUS) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides specialized financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. Operated by Fidus Investment Advisors, LLC, a registered investment adviser, the company is regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The firm focuses on structuring senior secured and unitranche loans, mezzanine debt and equity investments for established businesses across a range of industries.